"I have to warn you, I've heard relationships based on intense experiences never work."

~ Speed, directed by Jan de Bont

"Jarreau," I answered while watering my dying cactus. The damn thing was supposed to be a perennial or something. I groaned inwardly when my boss's voice come through the speaker. "Yes, sir. No, I---well, sir. Sir! Yes, sir ... Understood." I hung up and sighed. 

I clenched my fist around the waterjug and thought better of hurling it at the wall. Instead, I slammed it down on the desk. Of course, it's after he hung up that I think of comebacks to his "urgent" orders. As I changed into job-appropriate attire, I fantasized of all the ways I could to kill him and get away scot-free. Ohh, it made me so mad. How dare he.

"F-ing bastard," I muttered. "No, this mission is very important, I'll explain more when you get in the office," I mimicked Captain Lerman in his usual snarly voice as I grabbed my keys. "Hmph, more important than my friend who I haven't seen in God knows how long?" I growled and slammed the front door shut, remembering the luggage in the backseat. The sight made me even more infuriated. I slid into the driver's seat and revved the engine of the all-wheel-drive. My knuckles were white as I gripped the steering wheel. Gritting my teeth, I mumbled every cuss word I could think of under my breath. He knew this was going to be the first time in ten years I would have a vacation. He knew how important today was for me. And of all the people he could have asked, he had to choose me.

After stopping into Starbucks, and taking my sweet old time I might add, I headed into headquarters. I scanned in with my ID card and marched straight to the elevator. As it rose, I began shifting my weight onto one foot. I pondered what dangers the mission posed in order to get someone of my expertise out into the field. I mean, I was specialized in many fields, particularly covert operations, but  what would cause him to pull me out of a vacation had to be serious. Plus, if his tone was any indicator, the situation was not good. The bell dinged and I exited.

Heading to Captain Lerman's office I stood straight, smoothed my hand over my outfit, and then knocked. The door opened a sliver. "Permission to speak to Captain Lerman," I said to the bulky man preventing me entrance.

He looked behind himself, conferred with the captain before replying, "Ok."

I nodded once before proceeding. "Permission to speak, sir."

"Go on."

"Captain Lerman, I don't understand why I'm-"

"-here?" he finished. "I need your F-16 training put to good use."

"Captain" - I was close to raising my voice - "there are other people who were trained to fly an F-16."

Disregarding my argument, he continued after a hand wave to dismiss his officer. "There is a stranded scientist in Antarctica, and he'll freeze if we don't get to him soon. Jefferies is on medical leave, Howards is on his honeymoon. You're the only one I could think of who has the kind of training essential for this project."

"Permission to speak freely, Sir?"

"Go on."

"Why was there not a contingency team up there for him? Furthermore, why can't one be sent? Why is my training required?" I shook my head with disbelief. "You pulled me out of a vacation that I have been planning for a year, and you damn well knew it!"

"Don't raise your voice with me, Lieutenant."

I swallowed the words I wanted to return. Instead, I gave a pitiful, "Sorry."

Without answering any of my questions, he ordered, "Suit up. A team is waiting on platform B-2."

Rinng! My iPhone went off. "Excuse me." I walk to the furthest corner away from him. "Jarreau," I answered robotically. "I'm sorry, Gwen," I speak extra loud, on purpose so that he can hear. "I know I was supposed to be at the airport. I got a call from my boss. I have to take a project today. I'm so so sorry. No, I was forced. Trust me, I'm just as upset as you! Yes, I know! I'll call you when I can. See ya." I hung up and turned to my boss with burning eyes. "Is that all, Sir?"

He acts unbothered by my attitude. "Yes. Dismissed."

With a curt nod, I pivoted and marched like a toy soldier out the door. My eyes kept the fire in them. Jerk, I thought. Inside the cockpit, I placed the headphones on my ears. "Check one."

My co-pilot was a rookie, I could tell from the extremely clean-shaven freshness about him. He was far too cheery to be experienced like I was. Maybe it was not his smell but rather my intuition telling me the kid was a newbie? Maybe it was that I had never seen him before except in passing? I did not know nor did I care to spend any more time trying to figure it out. I was miffed that my boss had sent me out with a kid. One would think that if Lerman were so desperate for someone of my caliber, I would be sent out with at least someone close to my rank. Of course not. Soon enough, we were off the ground and miles upon miles from the terminal.

The question of why the captain needed my fighter pilot training was still on the front burner. Antarctica was supposed to be deserted except for one person. If he were sending me to a war zone, he would have told me, but he did not.

Halfway through the ride, after eight hours, the co-pilot and I switched. For a while, the flight went smoothly under his direction, and I would admit, I was impressed. Maybe I had underestimated him.

"Rough day?" he asked.

"Yeah." I did not bother to turn to him.

"That's a shame."

"Yup." I was not in the mood for conversation.

"Well-"

"Jameson, just fly the damn plane," I interrupted. "I'm exhausted, okay?" I had not meant to sound so irate, but I decided a pathetic apology would sound sarcastic or unsincere.

"Yeah, yeah. Take a snooze or whatever. We'll be in Antarctica in eight hours, so you have plenty of time."

"Thanks." I closed my eyes and yawned. Sleep covered me.

I jolted up with no idea what awoke me. With barely any time to think, something sharp was pressed flush against my nape. Confusion doused me and I drowned with a slit moment of panic. My brain was a muddled mess as I tried to comprehend what was happening. Jameson was on top of me. I could not speak, my vocal chords would not function. So I kicked, bucked, did whatever I could to pry the knife away and shove him off. Suddenly, I felt the pressure alleviate as Jameson knocked to the floor. Shock riddled my face as I watched a man I had never seen before land a right on my attacker's face. Right. Left. Right. Right.

Jameson stopped flailing, his head laid still on the floor, but the guy pursued his assault.

Hopping onto my feet, I checked if the plane was on auto-pilot before barking an order, "Stand down! He's unconscious." I pulled the dark haired man away.

"Yeah. No problem. I'm glad I came in here when I did." My hero was dashingly handsome.

I nodded unable to hide the little amount of color rising onto my cheeks. "Yeah. What happened?"  I asked, still trying to clear my head of its remaining exhaustion.

"We had a mechanical error, and I was about to report that to you when I saw that guy on top of you. You looked like you could use a hand."

"We're stopped?" I asked. There were no scheduled breaks for this mission.

"No."  Before I could ask what the issue was, he cut in. "Who is that fucker anyway?" He turned his back to the unconscious co-pilot.

"Jameson. I think he was new or something." Before I knew what I was doing, my gun whipped out of its holster and pointed at the head of the mechanic. Bang! Bang! I let two bullets fly.

Jameson dropped to his knees and then fell onto his face.

Clearly shaken, the mechanic's face was frozen in fear.

"Sorry. I had no time to warn you," I said. What am I kidding, I barely had time to process it myself.

The mechanic turned around and kicked the knife away. "You're a bit crazy 'ya know." He panted placing a hand on his chest. "Jeez, I thought I was a goner."

"Sorry."

He gestured to Jameson. "So, what do we do with him?"

"Ugh, leave him be. Let's try not to contaminate the crime scene further."

"Of course. Thanks for saving my life," he said.

"Well, I guess I paid you back for saving mine."

Beep! Beep! Beep! The yellow alarm light flashed and the plane dipped to the ground.

"We're going down! Buckle up!" I pointed to the co-pilot chair with jumping into the mechanic. "You know how to fly?" It was a wishful question.

"Actually yeah. I've flown one of these before. ...I just didn't like the closed space much." He laughed bitterly as perspiration rolled down his temples. The mechanic swallowed as he buckled himself in.

"Okay. Just take a few deep breaths. The sooner we land this bird, the sooner you're out of the cockpit," I said. "What's your name?"

"Rowan."

"I'm Tenley Jarreau. We're gonna be fine." Securing the headset, I push the throttle forward. "Pull up gently on the wheel, alright?" With a jerky nod, Rowan obeyed.

I glanced at the RPM. Okay, we're going down fast, I said to myself. The sirens blared in the background as I pulled back on my yoke and the plane leaned back some. I kept the pressure on my stick steady. "Rowan, what was the mechanical problem?"

"The turbine."

I pushed the button right of the yoke. T-The turbine. Oh Lord have mercy. "Command, this is R-456, we're losing altitude and we need a landing place...Do you copy?"

"R-456 Roger. There is a field 1500 yards northbound. It's clear," the radio said.

I pulled back the throttle. "Keep the plane as steady as you can," I said.

"Right." The plane stopped shaking as violently as before.

Watching the altimeter. "Let's land this girl."

Rowan nodded with a determined smile.

"Push the throttle, we need to make a slow descent."

"That's the field. We need to land there." I pushed slightly down on the yoke. The nose of the plane dipped lower. Inch by inch, we descended. My palms were a little sweaty. Despite flying an F-16 in the Air Force, under even more extreme situations, I was as nervous here as I was the first time I flew the fighter jet. My heart was pounding against my chest. Maybe I was scared because five lives depended on me. In the fighter jet, it was just me. I had an eject button and a parachute.

"Tenley, pull up!" Rowan yelled.

I flinched into awareness and obeyed. "We're close to the ground. Deploy the landing gear," I said.

Rowan flicked a switch. "Landing gear deployed," he said.

"Alright. It's gonna be a bumpy landing," I said.

Sure enough, it was. The landing wheels skipped on the ground and the plane quaked. The sensation was like being in a toy rattle shaken unmercifully by a baby. Stray leaves slapped on the windscreen and finally we came to a screeching halt.

"R-456, give us your position," the radio commanded.

"R-456, we're landed in the field." I panted and let go of the yolk.

"How many passengers? What are their status?"

"Six people on board including myself. There's one dead, my co-pilot and I are alright. I don't know the status of the other four." My head flopped back onto the cushion.

"Roger that."

"Center, where are we?"

"South Africa."

"What's the ETA for a new plane to get us home?" I asked.

"Fifty minutes. Just sit tight and don't leave. We have your exact coordinates."

"Roger that. Thank you, Central."

"So, we're stuck here for another hour," Rowan said. "With him?" He pointed at Jamson.

"Uh, let's check if everyone's ok," I suggested while stretching in my seat. My legs were a little stiff and sore, but the more walking I did, the faster the unpleasant sensations would disappear. We skirted around Jamson's body, and I allowed Rowan out first. Claustrophobia, poor guy. Then I stepped out.

"Is everyone alright?" Rowan asked.

Several nods passed through the group.

Rowan leaned into my ear. "I just need some fresh air, ok?"

"I'll join you."

"Sure."

We opened the hatch and scaled the sides until our feet were planted on the ground.

"It's rather picturesque, don't you think?" Rowan said as he reached into his pocket. "You want one?" He held the box up to my face.

"Oh, no thanks. I don't smoke."

"I shouldn't be either, but I figured I deserved one after all that."

I nodded in agreement. He earned a medal for how well he handled himself, but I supposed a cigarette was award enough. "Yeah, that was something. Definitely didn't need that hell, but you did really well up in the cockpit."

A blush rose to his cheeks. "Thanks," Rowan said as he fumbled with his lighter.

The sun was sitting just above the horizon. Rowan was right. It was picturesque.

I almost jumped when a hand curled around my own. Looking down, I saw Rowan's palm linked to mine. My stomach fluttered with butterflies and my face felt warm.

Rowan stepped closer to me, and I could feel his heat warming me up despite the cold breeze on our shoulders.

Rinng! We both jumped ten feet off the grass at the sound of my mobile shouting.

I did not want to answer, but I thought of all the ways my boss would hound me for not answering his call. "I have to get that, sorry," I said as I stepped away and hit 'accept'. "Jarau."

Gwen skipped pleasantries and started shouted in the phone. Jerking the mobile away from my ear, I waited until Gwen stopped ranting.

"Wait, what are you doing at my office?" I asked.

Gwen answered.

"No, I told you my boss sent me out on a mission...project, mission, same thing. I know, and I'll visit you soon. Uh huh. Yes, yes. I'll see you soon. Ok, I promise." I rolled my eyes when Gwen requested the full version of the promise. "Cross my heart, hope to die, smash a cupcake in my eye." It was childish, but we had been stating that promise since we were both little. "Alright, bye." I hung up and walked back to Rowan who had extinguished his cigarette.

He had a 'what was that about?' look on his face.

"It was a friend."

"Oh? So you're not in trouble?"

"No, I was supposed to be with my friend today. She leaves for Doctors Without Borders in a couple of weeks, and we haven't caught up in a while. You know, work and then hers and our schedules never seemed to be open at a convenient time."

"Sorry to hear that. ...Is it bad that I'm glad you are here though?"

My cheeks blushed.

"I mean, if you had gone off with your friend, I might have never met you, Tenley."

Shifting my weight, I shrugged. "I suppose you're right."

"Plus, we all would have died probably."

I snorted. "I don't know about that."

"I do. I definitely wouldn't have been able to keep my cool like I did if you weren't there."

My face was red I imagined. "Thanks."

Rowan winked and stepped in front of me. His lips were mere inches away from mine. He opened his mouth to say something but was interrupted.

"Relationships that start under intense circumstances, they never last," I whispered, remembering that line from Speed.

He smiled. "OK. We'll have to base it on sex then," he said.

I laughed. "Whatever you say, mister." This time, I winked as I closed the distance between us.

Inspired by: GreatBlueHeron A young woman, who was a former F-16 pilot, is about to tackle a difficult project at the office - rescuing a stranded scientist in Antarctica - and needs to overcome the obstacle of her terrible boss, all while juggling the needs of her best friend, a doctor on base, her dying cactus, and the right guy, a hot mechanic on board the rescue plane, shows up at the right time.